Abstract:
Background: The root of Steganotaenia araliacea
is used for assisting labour in folk medicine. Recent
reports indicate that the root could possess
uterotonic substances.
Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate three
methods for the extraction of uterotonic principles
from the root of S. araliacea growing in Zambia.
Methods: Roots of the plant were collected from
Chongwe District of Zambia. The air-dried roots
were size-reduced, and the powdered material
extracted with hot ethanol, hot distilled water, and
cold distilled water. The solvent extracts were
concentrated and dried at 110 0C. Solutions of the hot
aqueous and cold aqueous extracts were prepared in
distilled water and used for organ bath experiments
to demonstrate uterotonic activities using strips of
pregnant rat uterus. The frequencies and amplitude
of contractile forces were recorded. The amplitudes
were plotted against log concentration of extract
with GraphPad Prism software, and the EC50 values
determined.
Results: The percentage yields were 31.3 % for the
hot aqueous extract, 8.15 % for the ethanolic extract,
and 3.27 % for the cold aqueous extract. The cold
aqueous extract showed higher potency (EC50 of
0.54 mg/ml) compared to the hot aqueous extract
(EC50 of 2.09 mg/ml).
Conclusion: Root extracts of S. araliacea possess
demonstrable uterotonic effects. Extraction of the
roots for this purpose could benefit from preliminary
defatting with organic solvents, followed by
successive extraction with hot and cold water.
